When
I
started
my
job
as
Cybermum
–
over
10
years
ago
–
it
was
quite
common
to
strategise
ways
to
prevent
your
private
information
appearing
online.
But
those
days
have
long
gone.
Unless
you
have
been
living
off
the
grid
and
opted
out
of
life
completely,
having
an
online
presence
is
now
essential.
Whether
you’re
paying
bills,
booking
appointments
or
renewing
your
insurance
premiums,
many
companies
have
made
it
almost
impossible
to
conduct
your
business
in
person,
forcing
even
the
most
reluctant
of
us
online.
Now,
many
of
us
consider
ourselves
to
be
proactive
in
managing
just
what
we
share
online
by
using
VPNs,
not
always
setting
up
accounts
with
online
stores
and
ensuring
our
social
media
privacy
settings
are
nice
and
tight.
But
unfortunately,
managing
your
privacy
online
is
more
complicated
than
that.
In
fact,
most
of
us
maybe
sharing
our
private
information
online
every
day
without
even
knowing.
So,
in
the
spirit
of
keeping
you
safe
–
here
are
three
different
areas
that
I
suggest
you
focus
on
to
ensure
you
know
exactly
where
you
are
sharing
your
private
information
1.
Your
Everyday
Browsing
Every
time
you
visit
an
online
site,
send
an
email,
search
for
information
or
basically
do
anything
online,
multiple
parties
collect
this
information.
Your
Internet
Service
Provider
(ISP),
Wi-Fi
network
administrator,
operating
system
e.g.
Windows
or
iOS,
search
engine
plus
the
websites
and
apps
you
use
will
all
keep
a
record
of
what’s
you’re
up
to
–
even
if
you
are
in
Incognito
Mode!
This
information
is
often
gathered
using
cookies
–
small
files
that
are
placed
on
your
device
by
the
website
that
you
visit.
These
are
created
whenever
you
visit
a
website,
and
they
contain
data
about
your
visit.
Some
websites
are
required
by
law
to
advise
you
if
and
when
they
use
cookies
but
if
you
choose
to
reject
cookies,
your
browsing
experience
can
become
really
clunky.
What
each
of
these
parties
does
with
your
private
information
varies.
Your
ISP,
for
example,
can
easily
put
together
a
pretty
accurate
profile
based
on
your
searching,
location
and
downloads
and
link
this
to
your
IP
(unique)
address.
This
data
can
be
held
for
years
–
subject
to
your
country’s
laws
and
could
potentially
be
used
for
surveillance,
policing
and
even
advertising.
Now
I
appreciate
that
my
ISP
is
required
to
collect
information
for
the
greater
good
but
I
am
far
less
comfortable
when
search
engines,
websites
and
apps
collect
my
private
data.
Since
the
Cambridge
Analytica
Scandal
of
2018,
the
industry
has
definitely
had
a
shake-up
however
this
can
still
be
a
risky
business.
How
To
Stay
Safe
-
Consider
using
a
VPN
to
ensure
the
private
information
you
share
online
is
encrypted
and
protected. -
Refrain
from
setting
up
accounts
on
every
website
you
visit.
Buy
items
as
a
guest
to
avoid
creating
login
details. -
Consider
a
search
engine
that
doesn’t
collect
and
store
your
information.
And
there
are
loads
of
more
‘privacy
focussed’
options
to
choose
from.
Check
out
DuckDuckGo
–
a
website
that
doesn’t
profile
users
or
track
or
sell
your
information
to
third
parties. -
Never
download
apps
from
unknown
sources.
They
may
be
designed
to
mine
your
personal
information.
Only
download
apps
from
reputable
sources
e.g.
App
Store
for
Apple
or
the
Google
Play
store
for
Android
devices. -
Always
read
reviews
to
see
if
anyone
has
had
a
problem
with
an
app
and
always
check
the
fine
print
before
you
download.
2.
Adware
You
know
those
annoying
pop-up
adds
that
just
randomly
appear
on
your
devices?
Well
–
that’s
adware,
software
that
is
designed
to
generate
revenue
through
advertisements.
Many
of
us
download
it
without
knowing
–
you
may
have
downloaded
a
free
program
or
app
without
realising
it
contained
bonus
adware
software.
Alternatively,
hackers
can
insert
it
into
your
system
by
exploiting
a
vulnerability
in
your
software
–
that’s
why
you
need
to
keep
all
your
software
updated!
And
while
those
pop-ups
can
be
super
irritating
what
you
really
need
to
worry
about
is
that
adware
can
compromise
your
online
privacy.
Adware
is
designed
to
track
your
search
and
browsing
history
so
it
can
display
ads
that
are
most
relevant
to
you.
And
once
the
adware
developer
has
your
location
and
browser
history,
they
are
likely
to
sell
this
info
to
a
third
party,
making
themselves
a
nice,
tidy
profit
–
all
without
you
even
knowing!!
How
To
Stay
Safe
-
Use
a
super-duper
internet
security
software
like
McAfee’s
Total
Protection
that
will
identify
and
remove
adware. -
Keep
your
software
and
operating
systems
updates
to
prevent
hackers
from
introducing
adware
into
your
system. -
Phishing
emails
are
a
renowned
source
of
adware
links
–
never
open
links
in
an
email
if
you
aren’t
100%
sure
it’s
safe.
3.
AutoFill
When
I
first
discovered
autofill,
I
was
hooked!
No
need
to
tediously
enter
your
name,
address,
telephone
number-
even
credit
card
–
every
time
you
need
it!
How
good??
But
I
have
since
learnt
that
having
autofill
enabled
on
your
computer
means
your
personal
information
is
at
risk
of
being
hacked.
Cybercrims
have
mastered
the
art
of
capturing
our
credentials
by
tricking
browsers
to
share
our
personal
details
and
here’s
how:
unsuspecting
people
are
lured
to
a
compromised
website
that
has
an
invisible
form.
Autofill
identifies
that
there
is
a
form
on
the
site
and
then
gives
up
your
private
information
allowing
the
hacker
to
collect
your
credentials.
My
Top
Tips
-
Disable
auto-fill
–
yes
it’s
convenient
but
it’s
just
too
risky.
Here’s
some
advice
on
how
to
make
that
happen. -
Use
a
Safe
Search
service
to
ensure
you
don’t
get
involved
in
fraudulent
websites.
Check
out
McAfee’s
WebAdvisor
–
it’s
free!
Not
sure
whether
it’s
worth
the
effort?
Well,
let
me
make
it
simple
–
if
you
want
to
lock
down
your
online
identity
to
ensure
your
financial
health
and
reputation
aren’t
compromised
then
you
need
to
do
something
very
soon!
Imagine
losing
your
hard-earned
savings
or
having
your
Instagram
account
hacked
and
your
reputation
compromised?
Not
fun
at
all
–
so
it’s
time
to
take
action,
my
friends.
Stay
Safe
Alex
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